


December 2nd: How Shall I Send Thee?

by wednesdays__child



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Family Drama, Gratuitous Use of Southern Accents, M/M, Profilers For Christmas, Recovered_ProfilersForChristmas2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 01:45:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12877551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wednesdays__child/pseuds/wednesdays__child
Summary: Aaron is looking forward to a quiet Christmas Eve at home with his son and his partner until an uninvited guest shows up.





	December 2nd: How Shall I Send Thee?

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [FA_ProfilersForChristmas2017](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/FA_ProfilersForChristmas2017) collection. 



> Title from the song Children Go Where I Send Thee by Johnny Cash.
> 
> Thanks to my lovely beta...you know who you are!

Aaron sat in the dining room, laughing as he was trying to help Spencer with the chords of the song they were teaching Jack. He was continually amazed at how insanely talented and adaptable his lover could be. It seemed there wasn’t much Spencer couldn’t do and he loved searching for new things to teach him. Currently, he was sitting at the head of the table that he was using as a makeshift music stand while Spencer was on the other end with his keyboard doing his best to follow along.

Aaron smiled as he asked, “Ready to go again?”

“Yeah, what number are we on, Jack?” Spencer asked, smiling at the young boy.

“Three!” Jack shouted, a wide smile on his face.

“Okay, here we go.” Aaron played the intro on his guitar before they all began to sing: 

“Children go where I send thee. How shall I send thee?  
I'm gonna send thee three by three  
Three for the Hebrew children  
Two for Paul and Silas  
One by the little bitty baby who was born, born, born in Bethlehem.”

They were just getting started on the next verse when the doorbell rang. Aaron looked at Spencer and smiled. 

“Keep going, you two. I’ll see who it is.”

Aaron sat his guitar down as he rose from the table to answer the door, wondering who it could be. Dave was out of the country for the break, JJ and Will had gone to New Orleans, Derek was in Chicago with his family and Penelope and Emily were off on a girl’s trip, one he was sure he would have to hear about at a later date in painful, full colored detail. He was chuckling at the idea as he threw open the door and froze, staring in shock at the person at the other side of the door.

“Mother?”

“Hello, Aaron.”

“What..?” he stammered. “What are you doing here?”

The woman on the other side stared him down. Obviously that was not the response she had been expecting. He took her in, noting the perfectly coiffed hair, the pressed dress, the fur stole wrapped around her shoulders, the shiny black pumps. She was in her “Christmas Eve Dinner” outfit. It was Christmas Eve. Was she planning on spending it here?

“Oh god,” he whispered under his breath.

“Aaron Michael, you are not just going to let me stand on your doorstep on Christmas Eve, are you? I thought I had raised you better than that.”

“No ma’am,” he apologized quickly, startled out of his stupor. As he stepped out of the way, he motioned her inside. “Please come in.” 

He wasn’t surprised to hear her mutter, “About time,” as she passed. He closed the door, taking a deep breath before turning around with a big smile.

“What are you doing here?”

“It is Christmas Eve, Aaron Michael, and you have been ignoring my invitations for the last four years. I am here to celebrate the holiday with my grandson that you have been keeping from me for some reason.”

Aaron sighed. He **had** been avoiding her and a part of him knew that something like this would happen but he honestly didn’t think she would just show up on his doorstep on Christmas Eve without even contacting him first. 

“So, where is he?”

“Who?”

“Mah grandson.”

Just about that time, Spencer and Jack started in on the next verse of the song. Aaron watched in horror as his mother turned and began to make her way to the kitchen. The kitchen where Spencer was. The Spencer that his mother didn’t know about yet.

“Mama!” he shouted as he followed behind her. She stopped at the doorway and froze as Jack and Spencer finished up the verse. When Jack stopped and stared, Spencer turned to see what was happening behind him. When he saw the woman staring at him and Jack, he stopped playing and turned.

“Hello,” he greeted, smiling slightly. 

“Aaron Michael, who is this man in your kitchen in his…” She looked Spencer up and down, “...pajamas? And on Christmas Eve no less.”

“Aaron?” Spencer looked at him in shock.

“Mama, this is Dr. Spencer Reid,” he introduced quickly. “Spencer, this is my mother, Annabelle Hotchner.”

“Grandma?” Jack asked before recognition bloomed over his face before he shouted, “Grandma!” and darted around the table.

The older woman crouched down and opened her arms to accept the enthusiastic hug from the young boy.

“Well if isn’t my favorite little man,” Annabelle said as she cuddled the boy to her chest. “I’ve missed you, Jackson.”

“Missed you too, Grandma. What’cha doing here?”

“Well, it seems your daddy has been a little too busy to get back to his own mama about your plans for Christmas. So, since I was up this way, I decided to stop by.”

Aaron looked at Spencer over his mother’s shoulder before mouthing, “I’m sorry” at his lover.

When they pulled away, Annabelle asked her grandson, “What were you singing in here, little man?”  

“Dad and Spencer were teaching me Christmas songs.”

“Oh, which one?”

Before he could answer, Annabelle was up and snatching the sheet music, glaring at it for a moment. “What is this?”

“Children Go Where I Send Thee,” Aaron stated.

The Hotchner matriarch snorted. “Who decided that was a Christmas song?”

“Johnny Cash?” Spencer offered. 

When she turned to glare at him, Spencer stood his ground and Aaron puffed up a little in pride. His lover had more than a little experience with the Hotchner glare.

“Who is this man, Aaron Michael and what is he doing in your home on Christmas Eve? Where is the meal? This is important, child. What of the traditions? What...”

“Mama!” Aaron interrupted, stepping in front of the raving woman. “This is **our** Christmas tradition. We wear our new pajamas that Spencer bought for us, teach Jack a new song and bake cookies for Santa.”

“No prime rib? No sweet potato pie?”

“None of that. We like to keep things simple, especially since we never know when we could be called away for work. It might not be traditional in your sense of the word, but we like it.”

“We?”

“Spencer, Jack and I. My family.”

“So this young man..?”

“Is my partner.”

They stared at each other for several long minutes before the older woman deflated slightly. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“Really, Mama?” Aaron asked, his exasperation shining through. “You can’t believe it? You’re the one that was always hinting how much you disliked Haley…”

“She wasn’t good enough for you, I always told you that…”

“And ya’ continually criticise how I celebrate…”

“Your son - my grandson - deserves a spectacular holiday…”

“And ya’ always made it clear how ya’ felt about homosexuality.”

That froze the older woman. They all stood there, silently staring at each other until Annabelle finally whispered, “You’re right.”

Aaron stared at her in shock. “What?”

“You’re right,” she repeated. “I shouldn’t judge you for who ya’ love. Ya’ know I only ever wanted the best for you. I just want to see ya’ happy, Boo Bug.”

“Spencer makes me happy, Mama, in more ways than I ever thought possible.”

She smiled tentatively before she reached out and took Aaron’s hands in her own. “Then I’m very happy for you.”

“Mrs. Hotchner,” Spencer offered softly, “If you would like, we’d love to have you stay and help make the cookies.”

“I’d like that,” she said softly like she was still trying to decide her place in all of this. “Are you boys going to finish your song?”

“If you’d like. It’s a good song for Jack because it promotes memorization through repetition,” Spencer explained.

“You lucked out, Aaron Michael,” Annabelle mock whispered as she leaned in to her son. “Brains and good looking too? Dare I ask how old he is?”

Aaron chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t.”

“Well, let’s hear it then. I never miss a chance to hear my Boo Bug sing. Aaron Michael has such a lovely voice, he just never would stick with his lessons. He was too focused on his studies.”

“Mama,” Aaron complained as he sat down and picked up his guitar once again. Leave it to his mother to embarrass him, even when he was in his forties.

They picked up where they left off, counting down from eight to one with Jack smiling as he settled in his grandmother’s lap. Once they were all done, the older woman applauded wildly, before she suggested they get to cookie making. The three men quickly agreed and Annabelle asked where she could place her stole. Aaron had suggested Jack take her to show her his room and put her fur on his bed for safekeeping. Jack enthusiastically jumped up and grabbed his grandmother by the hand and excitedly dragged her down the hallway toward his room.

Once they were out of earshot, Spencer leaned forward and asked, “Boo Bug?”

“Shut up,” he complained quietly, the tips of his ears reddening slightly, “She always called me that when mah daddy wasn’t around.”

“You never told her about me?”

“Does the word estranged mean nothing to you?”

Spencer sighed. “I can’t imagine not being close to my mother. How do you do it?”

“When I left home, I left it all behind. I would go back occasionally but I made mah own home so I didn’t need to go back.”

Spencer stepped in close, taking his lover into his arms. “But she’s still your mother. Can’t you give her another chance? Jack doesn’t have a lot of family. Doesn’t he deserve to have a grandmother?”

Aaron sighed before leaning up for a soft kiss. “I suppose. It just makes me wonder why she’s here now?”

“Maybe I just wanted to see the family I have left at the holiday?” Annabelle said from the doorway.

Aaron moved to pull away, but Spencer didn’t let him go, pulling him in closer. From the safety of Spencer’s arms, he turned to look at his mother. They stared at each other for a moment until the woman asked, “What kind of cookies are we making?”

“Sugar cookies!” Jack shouted as he rushed into the kitchen. “Those are Santa’s favorite.”

“Well, that is very true,” she said. “And I just happen to be an expert at sugar cookie making.”

“Really?” the boy asked in awe.

“That is true, Jack. Nobody makes sugar cookies better than my mama.”

“Hey!” Spencer complained.

“Except for maybe Spencer,” he corrected with a shy smile on his face.

In the end, Spencer and Aaron were relegated to the dining table while Annabelle and Jack took over in the kitchen. The woman deftly moved back and forth, combining and mixing ingredients, constantly involving the boy in the process. Spencer occasionally stood to help but the matriarch always waved him off.

As the last batch was coming out of the oven, Spencer leaned over and whispered, “You know, the longer you spend with her, the more your accent peeks through.”

“Ah don’ have an accent,” Aaron denied even as he heard the drawl himself.

“Okay,” Spencer said with a smirk. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“Shit,” he whispered but it came out sounding like _”sheet”_.

“Language, Aaron Michael.”

Now the blush was in full effect. “Sorry Mama.” 

The cookies were placed in the center of the table and they all began the fun but messy process of getting them all decorated. Jack was fond of the sprinkles while Spencer spent time frosting intricate patterns atop the cookies. Once they were all done, Jack picked his three favorites before setting them out on a plate for Santa. 

Annabelle grabbed Jack’s hands and made a mock disapproving face. “Someone has sticky hands. You can’t expect Santa to come if you have sticky hands when you go to bed, can you?”

“No Ma’am,” he said before turning to his father. “I need a bath!”

Spencer chuckled as he stood, reaching out to take the boy’s hand. “I’ll go get him cleaned up. You talk to your mama, Boo Bug.”

Aaron chuckled, shaking his head at his retreating lover. 

“He’s a good man,” Annabelle said once they were gone down the hall.

“Yeah,” Aaron whispered, a small, sweet smile on his face. “Yeah he is.”

“A little young for you though, ain’t he?”

“Mama,” Aaron complained. When Annabelle simply glared at him, he dropped his eyes. “No, ma’am, he is not. He might not seem it but Spensah is an old soul.”

“Jus’ like you. You were always too old for your age. Your daddy didn’t understand it. Hell, I barely did.”

“Did ya’?”

Annabelle sighed, looking at her hands. “I know I wasn’t the best to you, boy. I wish I could say I tried but I know I coulda tried harder.”

Aaron waited, wondering what her angle could be. Finally, he asked. “Why are ya’ really here, Mama? Ya’ didn’t jus’ come by thinkin’ I’d be here.”

“I’m here to meet Sammy.”

“Who is Sammy?”

Now it was Annabelle’s turn to blush. “Samuel Weinstein. He’s my...suitor.”

Aaron sat froze for several moments. “You...you have a boyfriend?!” he nearly shouted.

“I have a been a widow for over twenty years, Aaron Michael,” she said defensively. “And an adult woman. I have needs too.”  

“Oh god, Mama,” Aaron complained, covering his ears. “I did not need ta hear that!”

“Well, it’s true. And Sammy makes me happy.”

Aaron stared her down for a moment, his version of the Hotchner stare just as deadly as hers. “Where did you meet him?”

Annabelle chuckled lightly before she answered. “I met him through the internet, if you must know.”

“Online dating?! Mama! Do you know how dangerous that is?”

“Yes, well, it worked out in this case.”

“How long have you known him? Do I need to do a background check?”

Aaron was reaching for his phone, readying to call up Garcia and call in a favor when Annabelle stopped him with a gentle hand. 

“We’ve been datin’ for nearly two years, Boo Bug. Not everyone is bad guy.”

Aaron sighed. “I know, Mama, but I worry.”

“And that’s why I love you, Aaron Michael.”

They simply looked at each other, the silence comfortable instead of tense for once.

“Tell me about him.”

The smile on Annabelle’s face was sweet, transforming her face from the harsh matriarch he knew into someone younger, hopeful and in love.

“He’s a lawya’, retired. I know. I can’t seem to help myself. But he’s good ta me and now he wants to travel. We’re doing Christmas in New York and then New Year’s in Paris.”

“Sounds nice. He’s Jewish?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t seem to mind that we’re Episcopalian.” 

Aaron chuckled at the joke their family lived with for years.

“I’d like it if ya’ meet him sometime,” she said softly, hope in her eyes.

“I’d like that.”

Annabelle paused for a moment. “There is one thing ya’ need to know first.”

“What’s that?” Aaron asked, concern coloring his voice.

“He’s a might younger than me.”

Aaron eyes narrowed as he took in the nervous tone of his mother’s voice. “How much younger?”

“I believe he just turned forty-eight.”

Aaron sputtered, nearly choking on the revelation. “Ya’ believe...he’s...forty-eight? Mama! I’m forty-seven!”

“I know!” she shot back, glaring at him. Suddenly, she began to smile, which made Aaron smile, which made her begin to laugh, which made Aaron start to laugh. Soon, they were both laughing so hard they were nearly clutching the table to keep from falling over. Spencer and Jack came out just about that time and the two of them stared at the Hotchner’s at the table, laughing like loons before Jack asked, “What’s so funny?”

That sent them back into another fit of laughter that lasted until they both ran out of air. 

Once they settled down, Spencer ventured, “Wanna share with the rest of the class?”

Aaron sighed as he stood from the table. “Turns out the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, does it Mama?”

“That it does not, Boo Bug.” She turned to her now clean grandson as asked, “Would ya’ do this old lady a favor and go get my stole from your room?”

“Sure!” he shouted as he rushed down the hallway.

Once he was gone, Annabelle stepped up to Spencer, the Hotchner glare firmly in place. “I know I haven’t been around much but there is one thing you should know, Dr. Spencer Reid. The Hotchner’s take care of their own, ya’ understand?”

“Yes ma’am,” Spencer replied as he fought to keep the smile off his face.

Annabelle looked over her shoulder at her son. “This one doesn’t intimidate easily, does he?”

“Nope,” Aaron said, chuckling lightly. “I think he’s immune to the glare by now.”

“Shame that.”

Just then, Jack rushed up to the older woman, fox fur in hand. “Here you go, Grandma.”

“Thank ya’, child,” she said before she crouched down in front of him. “Ya’ be a good boy now, ya’ hear me, Jackson?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the young boy replied.

“Such manners,” she said as she took him in her arms, hugging him tight. “Your presents should be here tomorrow. I hope ya’ enjoy ‘em and maybe when I get back from Paris, we can get together and ya’ can tell me all about what y’all did and what Santa brought ya’. Sound good, little man?”

“Sounds great,” Jack said before pulling back to press a small kiss to her cheek. “Thanks Grandma.”

She stood and turned to Aaron, a lovely, warm smile on her face. “I’d best be off. Sammy’s waiting for me in New York and he worries about me so.”

“We can’t have that now, can we?”

They all walked to the front door and after Aaron opened it, Annabelle stopped, waiting. Aaron sighed before he stepped into her personal space, letting her wrap her arms around his waist while he folded his arms around her shoulders. 

“I love ya’, Boo Bug.”

“I love ya’ too, Mama.”

She pulled away, quickly wiping her face, saying her final goodbyes, and slipping out the door. Aaron slowly closed the door before falling against it, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Well, I think that went better than it could have gone.”

Spencer chuckled. “Really? I thought it went very well.”

Aaron walked forward and took his lover in his arms before kissing him softly. “You would.”

“Jack,” Spencer said as he continued to look in Aaron’s eyes. “Don’t you think it’s time for you to get ready for bed?”

“Awwww,” Jack complained. “But I wanna stay up.”

“Okay,” Aaron said as he turned to look at his son. “But ya’ know, Santa doesn’t come if you’re up.”

“He doesn’t’?”

“Nope.”

“Do I get a story?”

“Of course.”

“Yay!” And then they boy was off like a shot, heading toward his room in a flash.

“Whose turn is it?” Aaron asked, smiling at his son’s antics.

“I believe it’s mine but I’m happy to concede it to you just to hear that accent some more.”

Aaron sighed as he dropped his forehead against Spencer’s. “I’m not gonna get to live this down anytime soon, am I?”

“Nope,” Spencer replied, popping the “P” as hard as he could. “But I’ll tell you a secret.”

“What’s that?”

“Keep it up and you just might get lucky tonight.”

“Might?”

“We’ll see.” He leaned in further, brushing his front up against Aaron’s. “Say my name again.”

“Spencer.”

“No. Say it with the accent.”

Aaron chuckled as he dropped his voice down to a gravelly growl.

“Spensah.”

“That’s it.”

Aaron laughed harder then. “Let’s go read mah boy a storey then,” he said, over exaggerating his Southern twang. 

Spencer laughed right back as he pulled away and began to saunter down the hallway toward Jack’s room. 

“Don’t push your luck, Boo Bug.”

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt: The Horror that is Family on Christmas**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Somebody has a more troublesome experience with their family over the holidays. I'd prefer it end on a positive note, humorous, fluffy, smutty...
> 
> I hope this worked for you...


End file.
